Donald Zook Performance January 17, 2008
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Flutist and Norwell resident Donald Zook will be performing a free concert to inaugurate his new flute on Sunday, January 27th at 4pm. The concert will take place at the South Shore Conservatory, at 64 St. George Street in Duxbury and will feature works by Doppler, Briccaldi, Godard, Widor and Debussy. The concert also will feature pianist Jane Viemeister and the New England premiere of composer John Kramer’s “Fantasy.” Visit the South Shore Conservatory’s website for more information.
Les Sampou Concert/Fundraiser January 17, 2008
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Norwell resident Les Sampou (and The Tin Angels) will be performing at a CD Concert and Fundraiser Saturday, February 2, at 8pm at the Cushing Center. Special guests will include David Ogden and students from Sampou’s voice studio. A percentage of the money raised through ticket sales will be used to help Sampou provide funding to create demo recordings for those students of hers who are interested in pursuing a career in music.
For tickets or more details, please visit Ms. Sampou’s website.
State of the Website January 15, 2008
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The NHS Music Department Website has been officially up and running for just about a year, so I thought it might be appropriate to talk a little bit about our first year on the Intartoobs:
- In just about one year of operation, we’ve racked up just shy of 7,000 visits. Not bad for our first year, especially given the limited audience for whom most of the information here is intended. We’ll never have Google’s numbers, but then again, we can’t really expect to!
- The website has become a great way for us to disseminate information, especially announcements. For instance, if weather is a possible issue for an outside performance, I can now get that information to you quickly and update it frequently, rather than having to rely on a cumbersome and time-consuming phone tree.
- We’ve added a bunch of useful tools and links, as well as photos and recaps of what we’re doing in class. Well done!
- I’m looking forward to another productive year on the website. See you at 14,000 hits!
-J. O’Briant
Sr. District Festival Recap January 15, 2008
Posted by nhsmusic in Chorus, Jazz Workshop, Symphonic Band, Uncategorized.add a comment
The festival turned out to be just as good as I’d thought it would. Prof. Duffy got great results out of the Symphonic Band, performing two of his own pieces (one, Predator, commissioned for the occasion), Robert Spittal’s Pacem, the Mennin Canzona as the official warhorse of the program and a Fillmore march to close things out (done in typically flamboyant, and certainly very entertaining, style). The orchestra gritted their teeth through a valiant performance of Borodin’s Polovetsian Dances, followed by the Funeral March for a Marionette (Hitchcock, anyone?) and Smetana’s always-enjoyable Dance of the Comedians. The chorus and the jazz ensemble were especially strong this year, and I was very impressed by the work of both Pamela Perry and Tiger Okoshi with the two groups.
Students: if you haven’t tried out for this kind of a festival before, I strongly recommend that you do so! It’s a great experience, getting to work with fine professionals in our field and with other hard-working students. See me for more information!
Best,
J. O’Briant
Live from Sr. District Festival January 11, 2008
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We’ve arrived safely at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center for the 2008 SE District MMEA Sr. Festival. From the sound of it, the ensembles should be of typically high quality, and I’m sure our students are going to have a great experience working with fellow students from all over Southeastern Massachusetts and the professionals that have been brought in to lead the groups. Rehearsals go all day today and tomorrow morning, with the concert to follow tomorrow at 2:00pm.
Should be a great festival, and we look forward to joining you all again in classes on Monday!
-J. O’Briant
Small Ensemble Night Begins! January 9, 2008
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As of yesterday in Symphonic Band rehearsal, we’ve begun preparations for Small Ensemble Night, which this year will occur on Wednesday, February 13th. I’m lucky enough to have all of the symphonic band in one class this year, which allows us to use some of the days the class meets to break everyone up into their chamber ensembles for rehearsals. It’s one of the most exciting times of our year! I enjoy being able to walk around our side of the building to any of the seven different student-run rehearsals we may have going on at any one time, simply listening in for a few moments, asking questions or offering suggestions. I’m looking forward to the eventual product as well!
-John O’Briant
Great Advocacy Piece from the Washington Post January 5, 2008
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There are a lot of good lines in this article, but the emphasis on a couple of them is mine:
Cranking Up Graduation Rates, SATs
Monday, December 17, 2007; Page B02
John J. Mahlmann, executive director of the National Association for Music Education, says he is tired of having to defend the importance of music education.
He often finds it necessary to rattle off statistics about how music improves the lives of people who study it. The sheer joy of playing and understanding music isn’t enough, he said.
So he has an unorthodox response to educators: “Why is math so high on the priority list?”
His answer: “Because we can test for it.”
The thing people forget, he said, is that musicians are assessed every time they play an instrument. “If you went to a concert and they only played 80 percent of the notes correctly, you wouldn’t like it,” he said. “Musicians strive for perfection. Lots of people don’t mind 80 percent on a math quiz.”
* * *
Schools with music programs have graduation rates of 90.2 percent, as compared with a 72.9 percent rate for schools without music education, according to a 2006 Harris Interactive poll of high school principals funded by the National Association for Music Education and International Music Products Association, known as NAMM. The poll also found that schools with music programs have attendance rates of 93.3 percent, compared with 84.9 percent for those that don’t.
In 2006, SAT takers with course work or experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the college entrance exam and 43 points higher on the math portion than did students with no such experience in the arts. Scores of those with course work in music appreciation were 62 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, according to the College Board’s 2006 Profile of College-Bound Seniors National Report.
A November 2007 Harris poll found that 86 percent of college graduates had some music education when they were in school, compared with 65 percent for those who had not completed or completed only high school. Eighty-three percent of people earning $150,000 or more had a music education, the poll found.
– Valerie Strauss
